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ORDINANCE NO. _______
ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 9.31 OF TITLE 9 OF THE
MENDOCINO COUNTY CODE ENTITLED
"MEDICAL MARIJUANA CULTIVATION REGULATION"
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Mendocino ordains as follows:
Chapter 9.31 of Title 9 of the Mendocino County Code is amended to read as follows:
"MEDICAL MARIJUANA CULTIVATION REGULATION
Section 9. 31.010 Purpose and Intent.
It is the purpose and intent of this Chapter to regulate medical marijuana in a
manner that is consistent with State law and which promotes the health, safety,
and general welfare of the residents and businesses within the unincorporated
territory of the County of Mendocino by balancing: (1) the needs of medical
patients and their caregivers for enhanced access to medical marijuana; (2) the
needs of neighbors and communities to be protected from public safety and
nuisance impacts; and (3) the need to limit harmful environmental impacts that
are sometimes associated with marijuana cultivation. Nothing in this Chapter
shall be construed to: (1) allow persons to engage in conduct that endangers
others or causes a public nuisance as defined herein; (2) allow the use or
diversion of marijuana for nonmedical purposes; or (3) allow any activity relating
to the cultivation, distribution or consumption of marijuana that is otherwise illegal
under California State law.
Section 9.31.020 Findings.
(A) The voters of the State of California approved Proposition 215 (codified
as Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 and entitled “The Compassionate
Use Act of 1996”).
(B) The intent of Proposition 215 was to ensure that seriously ill Californians
have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that
medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician,
and to ensure that patients and their primary caregivers who obtain and use
marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendation of a physician are not
thereby subject to criminal prosecution or sanction. The Act further provides that
“nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede legislation prohibiting
persons from engaging in conduct that endangers others, or to condone the
diversion of marijuana for non-medical purposes.”
(C) The State enacted SB 420 in 2004 (codified as Health and Safety Code
Section 11362.7 et seq.) to clarify the scope of The Compassionate Use Act of
1996, facilitate the prompt identification of qualified patients and primary
caregivers, avoid unnecessary arrest and prosecution of these individuals,
provide needed guidance to law enforcement officers, promote uniform and
consistent application of the Act, and enhance the access of patients and
caregivers to medical marijuana through collective, cooperative cultivation
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projects and to allow local governing bodies to adopt and enforce rules and
regulations consistent with SB 420.
(D) Marijuana plants, whether grown indoors or outdoors, especially as they
mature prior to harvest, may produce a distinctive odor that may be detectable
far beyond property boundaries.
(E) Each year since 2004, the Mendocino County Air Quality Management
District has received a significant number of formal complaints of odor related to
the cultivation of marijuana in residential neighborhoods.
(F) Marijuana, whether grown for medicinal purposes, or diverted to the black
market, may be sold for thousands of dollars per pound.
(G) The strong smell of marijuana may create an attractive nuisance, alerting
persons to the location of the valuable plants, and creating a risk of burglary,
robbery and armed robbery.
(H) There have been several marijuana related incidents of burglary, robbery
and armed robbery, some including acts of violence resulting in injury or death.
(I) Marijuana that is grown indoors may require excessive use of electricity
which may overload standard electrical systems creating an unreasonable risk of
fire. If indoor grow lighting systems are powered by diesel generators, improper
maintenance of the generators and fuel lines and the improper storage and
disposal of diesel fuel and waste oil may create an unreasonable risk of fire and
pollution.
(J) The right of qualified patients and their primary caregivers under State
law to cultivate marijuana plants for medical purposes does not confer upon them
the right to create or maintain a public nuisance. By permitting no more than
twenty-five (25) marijuana plants on any one (1) legal parcel, the County
anticipates a significant reduction in the complaints of odor and the risks of fire,
crime and pollution described herein.
(K) The County finds that the indoor or outdoor cultivation of more than
twenty-five (25) marijuana plants on any one (1) legal parcel within the
unincorporated area of the County for medicinal purposes will likely result in an
unreasonable risk of crime and will likely create odors offensive to persons living
nearby notwithstanding the limitations on cultivation that are imposed within this
Chapter. The County further finds that the indoor cultivation of more than twentyfive
(25) marijuana plants on any one (1) legal parcel may create an
unreasonable risk of fire and/or pollution.
(L) The County further finds that qualified patients and primary caregivers,
either as individuals or who operate or are members of collectives and
cooperatives as defined herein may be granted an exemption to cultivate medical
marijuana in excess of twenty-five (25) plants per parcel, provided they apply for,
obtain, and operate in compliance with a permit, as provided for herein, that is
conditioned to limit environmental, neighborhood, and community impacts.
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Section 9.31.030 Definitions.
As used herein the following definitions shall apply:
"Applicant" means a person(s) who applies for an exemption to the twenty-five
(25) plant per parcel limitation as specified under 9.31.110.
“Attorney General's Guidelines” means Guidelines for the Security and Non-
Diversion of Marijuana Grown for Medical Use issued by the Attorney General in
August 2008.
"Church" means a structure or leased portion of a structure, which is used
primarily for religious worship and related religious activities.
“Cultivation” means the planting, growing, harvesting, drying or processing of
marijuana plants or any part thereof.
"Identification card" shall have the same definition as California Health and
Safety Code Section 11362.5 et seq., and as may be amended.
“Indoors” means within a fully enclosed and secure structure that complies with
the California Building Code (CBC), as adopted by the County of Mendocino, that
has a complete roof enclosure supported by connecting walls extending from the
ground to the roof, and a foundation, slab, or equivalent base to which the floor is
securely attached. The structure must be secure against unauthorized entry,
accessible only through one or more lockable doors, and constructed of solid
materials that cannot easily be broken through, such as 2” x 4” or thicker studs
overlain with 3/8” or thicker plywood or equivalent materials. Plastic sheeting,
regardless of gauge, or similar products do not satisfy this requirement.
“Legal parcel” means a parcel of land for which one (1) legal title exists. Where
contiguous legal parcels are under common ownership or control, such legal
parcels shall be counted as a single parcel for purposes of this Chapter.
“Medical Marijuana Collective” means qualified patients, persons with valid
identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of qualified patients
who associate by written agreement, or form a cooperative in accordance with
Section 12300 of the Corporations Code within the unincorporated area of the
County in order to collectively or cooperatively cultivate, store, and/or dispense
marijuana for medical purposes, as provided in Health and Safety Code Section
11362.775. The term collective shall include “cooperative” unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise.
“Outdoors” means any location that is not “indoors” within a fully enclosed and
secure structure as defined herein.
“Parcel” means a “legal parcel” as defined herein.
“Permittee” means an individual or collective to whom an exemption permit is
issued as set forth in Section 9.31.110.
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“Primary caregiver” means a “primary caregiver” as defined in Health and Safety
Code Section 11362.7(d).
“Qualified patient” means a “qualified patient” as defined in Health and Safety​